


An Ideal Location

by Manen



Category: Mo Dao Zu Shi, 魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù
Genre: M/M, Modern AU, Not Beta Read, also still bad at titles and summaries, its really just for language at this point, jumping on that Mermay train, mermaid au, rating may change as more chapters are added, still don't know how to tag
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-10
Updated: 2019-06-17
Packaged: 2020-02-29 15:59:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 17,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18781504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Manen/pseuds/Manen
Summary: A place of meetings and farewells, memories and new beginnings, love and loss, grief and yearning. Wei Ying could have never imagined that his wayward outing would lead to such a small place having such tremendous meaning for him. Every smile and laugh, every tear and frown, it had all begun with a song.





	1. Chapter 1

The gentle rolling of waves was the first sound to reach his ears as he walked slowly over the stones.

Wei Ying stared out at the sea, the cloudy weather setting a rather somber mood before him. Fitting. Even the landscape was trying to reflect his mood back at him. Still, to get away for a couple hours was his whole reason of coming to a hidden beach.

The small inlet was bordered by high walls of stone, giving the isolated area an obnoxious level of ruggedness that kept tourists and locals alike away. Access to the inlet was through a hidden walkway randomly located on the side of a backroad. Even noticing it took some effort, but Wei Ying had and here he was.

By this point, he had reached the end of the rather decrepit pier that spanned about two meters into the water. With a ‘hmph’ he sat on the end, keeping his legs crossed and out of the ocean below him.

There wasn’t really anything impressive or special about this particular location, other than the isolation. But a moment to himself was exactly what Wei Ying had come here for. In the back of his mind, he knew that Jiang Cheng and Wen Ning would be worrying over his sudden disappearance. Little A-Yuan would surely be fretting as well once he realized his Papa wasn’t going to be the one picking him up from preschool today. He couldn’t help a little chuckle as he imagined his diligent little A-Yuan trying not to visibly panic. That child was far too mature for someone his age.

A-Yuan would be okay with Wen Ning for an afternoon, while Wei Ying tried to figure out why he was feeling so… He wasn’t sure how to describe it.

It felt like sadness, but he had a good life, close family and friends, a great job he loved, so why would he be sad? No, it was something closer to a hollowness perhaps. Yet, there was again no reason for him to feel as such. Wei Ying couldn’t make heads nor tails of his somewhat spontaneous downturn in mood, thus why he came to the inlet. A moment alone, a moment of peace, a moment of silence.

He can practically hear Jiang Cheng scoff at his want of ‘silence’.

Wei Ying let his body fall back as his view changed from the gray waves to the gray of the sky above him. He allowed his feet to dangle, toes skimming the surface from time to time as small waves continued to roll in. Surrounded by the clouds lazily passing above him and the waves smoothly washing up under him, Wei Ying was finding it more difficult to keep his eyes open.

“A little nap won’t hurt. Maybe I’ll feel better afterwards…”

“Are you alright?”

The sudden voice broke the serenity of the moment. Wei Ying lifted himself up quickly, looking behind him for whoever had spoken. There was no one behind him.

Had he been hearing things? He shook his head at the thought, the voice had been much too clear for him to have imagined it. Surely he was too young to be hearing voices. Surely! Maybe it was a ghos-

“Here.”

No longer in a sleepy daze, Wei Ying was easily able to determine that the voice had come from beside him. No, _below_ him. Hesitantly, because who would be swimming here, he leaned over to look into the water next to the pier.

Gray eyes met shockingly clear golden ones as an unfairly beautiful man gazed up at him curiously. The stranger simply stared at him, only his torso and head visible above the water, as if there wasn’t something weird about a random stranger just chilling in the water next to the pier where Wei Ying had decided to take a nap. He could’ve sworn he hadn’t heard anyone come down either, so where did this guy come from?

“Uh, hi?”

“Hello.”

Not surprisingly, the man’s voice fit his appearance, clear and refined as the water around them. Wei Ying was still very confused by the situation and awkwardly laughed before asking, “So, uh, whatcha doin swimming around here exactly?”

“Quiet. I was exploring.”

“Uh huh. Well, um, I was just heading out. Don’t mind me, I’ll get out of your hair.” Quietly lamenting the loss of a spot he thought was free of others, Wei Ying began to stand up before the voice of the stranger spoke again.

“Why are you sad?” The question caused him to freeze, gaze turning back to the stranger. It almost sounded like something a child would ask, yet it still came across as genuine even from a grown man.

“Sad? I’m not sad, nope! What makes you think such a silly thing? I have no reason to be sad!” Wei Ying heard himself slipping into his normal playful tone. Something both expected of him and a defense mechanism used on many an occasion.

“Don’t need a reason to be sad. Happens sometimes.”

A silence hung in the air between them for a time. For some reason, whether the honest concern of this stranger or his own tiredness taking it toll, Wei Ying let his defenses drop. The smile he wore grew sadder, more lonely but open. The other man had barely moved from where he tread water, something Wei Ying found peculiar but wasn’t going to point out.

“What’s your name?”

“Lan Zhan. Courtesy name, Wangji.”

“Courtesy name? Your family must be really traditional or something for you to have a courtesy name in this day and age.”

“Mn.”

That wasn’t much of a response for Wei Ying to go on, but the constant stare from his new companion got the point across that he was waiting for an introduction as well.

“Well, Lan Zhan,” He couldn’t help his amusement at the indignation that briefly flashed across the other man’s face at not being called by his courtesy name. “I’m Wei Ying. No courtesy name. Because that’s not a thing people do anymore.”

“Truly? It is normal, where I’m from.”

“I mean it was normal here too like a hundred years ago, but not so much now. I think Lan Zhan’s the first person I’ve ever met who has one!”

“Yet you don’t use it.” This earned Wei Ying a glare, but it seemed half-hearted at best. If the almost undetectable sigh of resignation that followed was anything to go by, Lan Wangji probably wasn’t going to fight him on it. “You still have not answered my question.”

“Which one again?”

“Why are you sad?”

“Would you believe me if I said I don’t know?” Lan Wangji gave him a small nod. Wei Ying laughed breathily. “Then I don’t know.”

Lan Wangji seemed to be debating something to himself, or at least that’s what it looked like to Wei Ying before he asked, “A song?”

“Song? You want me to sing my worries away? Lan Zhan’s very optimistic!”

“No.” Lan Wangji seemed to be pointing to himself, but from the angle Wei Ying could only make out the very tip of his finger. “I will. For you. Pacifist.”

While being slightly confused by that last bit of word choice, Wei Ying found himself agreeing. “Sure. It can’t hurt right? I’m sure Lan Zhan has a lovely voice!”

If Wei Ying noticed the slight reddening of Lan Wangji’s ears he didn’t say anything. Lan Wangji appeared to have a slight moment of hesitation, before he quietly started humming. It didn’t take long for his humming to transform into full-fledged singing, although staying relatively quiet. The melodic sound was unintelligible, but his voice was crystal clear and sent a resonance throughout the whole of the inlet.

Wei Ying felt an effect almost immediately. He could hardly move as every muscle and joint in his body seemed to relax at once. Likewise, the dreary haze that had been dominating his thoughts for weeks seemed to evaporate as if it had never been there. To describe the sensation he felt as floating wouldn’t be too far off the mark, almost as if he was being swaddled cozily in the gray clouds that hung above them. Throughout the entire moment of absolute bliss, he couldn’t tear his eyes away from Lan Wangji.

He watched as Lan Wangji rested his hands on the edge of the pier, lifting himself up slightly to project his voice. This action, however, revealed something that very nearly tore Wei Ying right out of his tranquility.

Were those fins!?


	2. Chapter 2

Jiang Cheng wasn’t an idiot. That role was reserved strictly for Wei Ying.

That didn’t mean that Jiang Cheng didn’t _feel_ like an idiot at the moment. What normal person would be hiding behind a large rock watching their own brother sit on a pier by himself?

Now, if Wei Ying honestly thought that Jiang Cheng hadn’t noticed his sudden downturn in mood and just as spontaneous upturn, then he was an even bigger idiot than he had previously thought. Wei Ying was also an idiot if he thought no one would notice that he now suddenly disappears daily for several hours in the afternoon. He would always reappear in time to pick up A-Yuan and was keeping up just fine with his job, but there was no way those missing hours didn’t have something to do with his positive mood swing.

Maybe he was seeing a therapist, or maybe he had even met someone? Both of these outcomes would be just fine, but Jiang Cheng couldn’t shake his suspicion that his brother wouldn’t do such a simple solution. Nothing about Wei Ying had ever been ‘simple’.

His suspicions seemed to be confirmed as Wei Ying was just sitting on a pier. That’s it. Just sitting on a pier, by himself, in this gloomy inlet, looking at his phone.

Jiang Cheng wanted to scream. What was the point in sneaking around and following his stupid brother if this was all he was doing!?

He was about to step out from his hiding spot to go over to Wei Ying when his brother suddenly perked up at something in the water. To his shock and confusion, a stranger’s head poked out from the waves and his brother eagerly crawled over to him.

Where did-? Who-? What-??

Wei Ying didn’t seem shocked at all, moving to lay on his stomach like some girl at a slumber party, legs swinging lazily above him. He just knew his brother was chatting away about something inane, and the other person seemed to be eating it up like a plant to sunshine. This was all too strange.

Jiang Cheng was too far off to see the newcomer properly, him being mostly submerged in water didn’t help, but he could make out a handsome face and long, black hair. He also didn’t seem to be talking much, letting Wei Ying chatter on and on without stopping him. This man must have the patience of a saint! That amount of talking would make most people insane, himself included.

With his mind running a mile a minute trying to understand the scene in front of him, he nearly missed a splash coming from the waves at his side. He whipped around immediately, scanning the waves for whatever he had heard. It wouldn’t have been a fish this close to the shoreline, right? Finding nothing, he turned back towards the pier.

What he saw wasn’t his brother in the distance, but another stranger’s face mere inches from his own.

Jumping back, Jiang Cheng lost his footing and fell back into the shallow water. He cursed as he felt the water seeping into his clothes, but then he remembered the random person in front of him.

...P-Person?

Wide amber eyes were looking at him in mild shock, but he hadn’t moved from his spot to try to assist him. Which probably would have been difficult given the _long black tail_ that made up the bottom half of his body.

Long black hair framed a pretty face, but there were long fins on either side of his head where ears would normally be. His nails were sharp and black, scales covering his hands and fading gradually as they moved up his arms, disappearing a little over halfway up his arms. There were smaller fins coming off of his tail by the waist as well, reminding Jiang Cheng of the beta fish he had seen at pet stores in the way they flowed gently as the waves brushed softly against them.

All of the scales, on the ear fins, arms, and tail, appeared black but Jiang Cheng could now see the way they shun a dark, dark green when the scant amount of sunlight reflected off of them. Taking all of this in left Jiang Cheng in utter shock, unable to formulate anything even resembling a sentence in his mind or out loud.

Recovering from the slight shock of Jiang Cheng falling over, the merman asked, “What are you doing here?”

His voice was light, soft even in the anger that was clearly meant to be conveyed as he spoke. Jiang Cheng had the feeling that anger was an emotion that this merman didn’t often express. It just felt...wrong coming from him. Somehow, this realization calmed him down and any fear he had felt was slipping away.

“That idiot on the pier is my brother. He didn’t tell us where he was going in the middle of the day, so I followed him.” He couldn’t help but cross his arms as he spoke, his usual prickly defense starting to come back to him naturally.

The merman glanced over his shoulder and noticed Wei Ying still laying on the pier, now on his back. His eyes widened when he caught sight of the second person in the water. “What’s Lan Wangji doing here…?”

“Lan Wangji?” The merman turned back to him as he spoke, but ignored his question.

“None of you should be here. This place is...it’s a bad place.” He opened a fan, wait where was he carrying that, and covered the lower half of his face with it. A pity, Jiang Cheng thought before realizing what he had thought and confounding even himself. “You should take your brother and leave.”

“Wait, who are you to tell us what to do? There can’t be that much wrong with this place. You’re here too, aren’t you?”

“My name is Nie Huaisang, young master of the Nie Sect. Not that that means anything to a human like you. I’m here to drop something off, nothing more. I didn’t expect to find people here though.” He was looking somewhere off to the side, and Jiang Cheng followed his line of sight.

He hadn’t paid much attention to the many rocks that lined the beach, it was rather craggy so why would he? Now that he did though, he noticed that many of them had a similar carved pattern. A flower of some sort. He couldn’t tell which one though.

“Did you make all of these?” Jiang Cheng couldn’t help but stand and walk over to them, picking one up and inspecting it. He saw Nie Huaisang slightly bristling out of the corner of his eye as he touched them. “They’re really well made. What flower is it?”

Nie Huaisang’s bristling stopped abruptly. He hid his face further behind his fan, and if Jiang Cheng knew any better he would suspect the merman was blushing.

“Stop trying to distract me from making you leave. ...but they’re peonies. Or they’re meant to be, I’ve never actually seen one. I’ve only been told about them.”

Peonies? As he looked closer, he could definitely see a resemblance, but it wasn’t quite right. There were elements that were more reminiscent of other plants that threw it off slightly. But for someone who had never actually seen a peony, they were rather impressive.

“Why do you make peonies?”

“That’s none of your business.”

“Well alright then, no need to be so rude.” That earned him a small chuckle.

“I’m not usually called the rude one in my family, mind you.” Another small chuckle behind his fan, before he lowered it to show his face once more. “You’re a curious human. May I ask your name?”

“...Jiang Cheng.”

“A pleasure. It has been many years since I have spoken to a human. You surprise me, most are terrified of sirens.”

“Sirens?”

“Ah, yes, that’s what you humans have always referred to us as. I have heard the term ‘mermaid’ or ‘merman’ before, but we call ourselves sirens at this point. Although I think humans once referred to bird women as sirens at one point. Regardless, most run immediately upon seeing us.”

“Why would I be scared of you?”

“Well, you know, the whole fins and scales thing mainly. Plus, I understand that much of your mythology portrays us in a rather...unflattering way.”

Jiang Cheng hadn’t noticed as they were talking, but he had been gradually making his way back towards Nie Huaisang and the rock that separated them. He stopped about a foot away, and looked down at the carved flower in his hand. “Someone who makes something so gentle couldn’t be bad.”

When he didn’t get a response, he looked up from the stone flower to find Nie Huaisang staring openly at him. There was something in those amber eyes that he couldn’t read, but a sudden shutter seemed to close off his emotions.

“I appreciate the compliment, but you and your brother really should head out.” The smile across his face seemed forced, more fake than it had been before. “There’s a storm coming in, and this area will become dangerous for humans.”

“Oh. Thanks for the warning.” He could recall the weather forecast mentioning rain, but not a storm. Perhaps this merm-siren could sense something their weather stations couldn’t. It wouldn’t be that shocking honestly. “I’ll just grab Wei Ying and-”

Looking over to the pier, there was a noticeable lack of Wei Ying. _When had his brother left!?_

“Oh, it appears Lan Wangji and your brother have already departed. No reason for you to remain then.” Nie Huaisang’s tone was dismissive, but Jiang Cheng rounded on him quickly.

“I’ll be back in two days!”

“...Huh?”

“I won’t be able to come back until then, but I still need to figure out what’s going on between my brother and this Lan Wangji person. Or, siren probably given you know him. Either way, I’ll be here then! So you better be too!”

Without giving a chance for Nie Huaisang to respond, Jiang Cheng was turning around and leaving the inlet. While Jiang Cheng left in absolute confusion as to why he had shouted all of _that,_  the siren was left in shock. After a second to process what he had heard, he couldn’t help but laugh to himself. Nie Huaisang glanced at the fan in his hand and the small stone peony Jiang Cheng had left atop the stone he was leaning against.

“Is this your way of an apology?”

Nie Huaisang pushed off from the small bit of land he was resting on, slipping back into the water and swimming away. His grip on his fan tightened and he bit his lip lightly.

“You don’t need to, you know?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This went a little differently than I planned, but I think I got what I wanted. Either way, I actually updated quickly! Personal success for me!
> 
> Just to be clear in case anyone missed it, Wei Ying and Jiang Cheng are both adults in this. Probably mid-20s, so Wei Ying is a bit calmer (as calm as he can be lol) and Jiang Cheng is pretty much the same as canon, but more like his younger self before everything went to shit. Or at least I try...


	3. Chapter 3

“Is it supposed to be this...red?”

“Of course! All of my dishes are like this!”

Lan Wangji was holding the small bowl of congee that Wei Ying had eagerly handed to him minutes prior. The siren looked at its color skeptically, but Wei Ying assured him it was safe to eat. He knew his spice preference was on the strong side, but he had been hoping that the siren wouldn’t question it. After Lan Wangji had brought him some of the blandest food he had ever tried, he had decided that he needed to introduce his friend to this thing called flavor.

Going from zero to a hundred might be rather extreme, but, well, this was really all Wei Ying knew how to cook confidently.

“Don’t worry, Lan Zhan! Look!” Wei Ying eagerly took a big spoonful of congee and stuffed it into his mouth. He let out a small moan, talking around his mouthful. “See, it’s sooo good!”

“Shameless.” Despite his words, Lan Wangji brought his own spoonful, not nearly as full as Wei Ying’s, up to his mouth and ate it. Seconds passed and his normal blank expression grew more strained little by little as he chewed. Wei Ying tried to hold in his laughter as he saw small tears begin to form at the edges of Lan Wangji’s closed eyes, but being his normally bubbly self his attempt was ineffective.

Lan Wangji tried to recover quietly while Wei Ying was rolling around on the pier laughing like a madman. “...You’ll break the pier.”

Moments like these, teasing Lan Wangji and then chatting for hours, had become somewhat of the norm for Wei Ying. After that first day of shock, who wouldn’t be shocked to find out the person you were talking to wasn’t _human_ , Wei Ying had come back to the inlet nearly everyday for the past few weeks.

Wei Ying’s mood had been improving ever since Lan Wangji sang for him, but that seemed to be the one thing that Wei Ying couldn’t coerce him into repeating no matter how many puppy dog eyes he sent his way. Regardless, just spending time with the siren lifted his mood. It felt the same as when he would play around with A-Yuan or hang out with Jiang Cheng and Wen Ning. Or, well, there was something different, but he couldn’t quite place what it was.

His visit the day before had been cut short after they had heard a big splash a little ways down the inlet. Wei Ying had been ready to brush it off as an animal, but Lan Wangji had insisted that they both head home for the day. Wei Ying had been stubborn, but Lan Wangji had agreed to try some of his cooking in exchange for him leaving a little earlier than normal. 

Lan Wangji was silently regretting that decision.

He had guessed from Wei Ying’s reaction to his own food that the other would add some flavor. _This_ much flavor was something he had not expected, but it was Wei Ying’s favorite type of food. Lan Wangji wanted to eat it for that reason alone, no matter how painful.

Lan Wangji had been curious about the human since he laid eyes on him. He had been told all his life by his uncle to stay away from humans. They were dangerous and not to be trusted. His brother didn’t seem to share this particular mindset, but he still urged Lan Wangji to stay away for his own good. He had been told it would only lead to pain in the end.

Yet, when he saw Wei Ying sitting on the pier, he could practically see the sadness emanating off of the other. Before he had known what he was doing, Lan Wangji had not only approached the human, but had sang for him.

He had yet to express to Wei Ying how intimate singing was for a siren, especially for a Pacifist like himself. To have a song imbued with calming magic was rare and coveted, something only a few sirens possessed. As rare as a Lure, but not as deadly.

“You don’t have to finish it. It’s alright, you won’t hurt my feelings. Trust me, I know how much spice I put into things.” Wei Ying had recovered from his laughing fit, mostly, but Lan Wangji didn’t say anything before taking another bite. “Lan Zhan! Really, I mean it!”

“Made by Wei Ying.”

“That doesn’t mean you HAVE to eat it! You’re making me feel bad here!” Wei Ying moved the rest of the congee further away, but Lan Wangji stubbornly kept what he had been given. “Fine, but don’t come whining to me later!”

“Topic.”

“Huh? Oh! Yeah, we haven’t picked one for today, have we?” Since they had been meeting, they decided to pick topics to discuss each day. If they ended up going off of it, that was fine, it was meant as a starting place honestly when they knew less about each other. Cooking had been their last one, which partially led to the red congee between them. “It’s your turn, isn’t it? What will Lan Zhan pick today~?”

“...Family.”

“Have we really not talked about family? I guess we haven’t, have we? Well I can start!” Wei Ying crossed his legs before rocking back and forth as he spoke. “I’ve already told you lots about my little A-Yuan. You’d love him, who doesn’t, but I guess I’ll start with my siblings. First off, I was adopted. My own parents passed when I was very young.”

“My condolences.”

“Ah, don’t worry about it.  It was so long ago at this point, after all. I don’t remember them much, but what I do are only bright and happy memories. But, anyway! I have an older sister named Jiang Yanli. She’s the nicest person you’d ever meet! She’s so gentle and cooks the best food, no one can trump her cooking, no one I say. Why she married that peacock is anyone’s guess, but I can’t fault it if only for little A-Ling! He’s their son, a little younger than A-Yuan and so precious. He got a puppy recently though, so, uh, I don’t visit their house much right now.”

“A puppy?” Lan Wangji was unfamiliar with many things on land.

“The most ferocious beast you will ever meet. Sharp teeth, long claws, wild eyes! I can’t stand them!”

“Your sister allowed her son to have one of these beasts?”

At this Wei Ying looked a little sheepish, trying to explain his fear of such a commonplace pet was difficult to regular people, much less a siren. “A puppy is a small one. Jin Zixuan, her husband, says it will be well-trained, but I don’t believe him! The further I am from that thing the better! Ah, I got off track.”

“It’s okay.”

“I have a little brother too, but he’s basically the same age as me so calling him younger has always been a bit weird. His name is Jiang Cheng. He’s always yelling at me for being improper and goofing around too much, but he’s all bark and no bite. Well, wait, no, he’d probably bite. I’m sure he’d have no qualms about literally knocking some sense into me. He’s just like a puppy.”

“The ferocious beast?”

“Just like it. He's sweet at heart though, a total softie. Do you have any siblings, Lan Zhan? I don’t think I’ve ever heard you talk about your family.”

“A brother.”

“Oh! What’s he like?”

Lan Wangji paused. His older brother had...changed suddenly. He could still remember the older siren taking care of him, teaching him, singing to him, all with a brilliant smile across his face. Yet, it had been nearly five years since he had last seen such open, genuine happiness on his brother’s face. The Lan Xichen he knew now was different.

Lan Xichen seemed almost haunted, like there was something ever present in his mind that he would not speak about. It had coincided with a noticeable distance developing between him and his sworn brother, Nie Mingjue. The two had been so close at one point, so much so that Lan Wangji would see the Nie Sect Leader, not yet leader at the time, on a regular basis. Lan Wangji had only seen Nie Mingjue at meetings for many years now, and any encounter was always kept brief.

The haunted looks, the rift between sworn brothers, surely they had to be connected. Lan Wangji had been faced with helplessness for the first time as he was unable to help his brother like he had been helped so many times before.

“Sorry, are you two not on good terms?” Wei Ying’s question tore Lan Wangji from his thoughts. How long had he been quiet?

“No, good terms. My older brother, Lan Xichen, he is also kind. Like your sister. I feel that he shoulders too many burdens alone though. He’s quieter than he once was.”

“That sounds difficult. I can’t say I relate, but I think my siblings would.” Lan Wangji looked at him with a slight tilt of his head and Wei Ying offered a small smile. “I have a tendency to do the same thing. Take on too much and not ask for help.”

“Then...what do your siblings do to help?”

“Hmm. I mean they’re just there, you know? They help in their own ways, but they never push unless I get really bad. I appreciate the distance, but I also feel comforted just knowing they’re there if I need them. There's not really a right way or anything like that, but having someone you love so close is always a comfort. I’m sure your brother feels the same way.”

Lan Wangji thought about the distance that had grown between Lan Xichen and Nie Mingjue, yet his brother had never tried to push him away even with all the other changes. He couldn't be sure that something as simple as his presence was such a comfort to his brother, but he certainly hoped it was. “Mn. Thank you, Wei Ying.”

“No need to thank me, Lan Zhan. No sorrys and thank yous between us, alright? Much too formal, we’re friends aren’t we?”

Lan Wangji could only nod, not finding any words to respond to a statement that should be so simple. He didn’t feel the need to make the matter any bigger than it needed to be. Friends. He liked being friends with Wei Ying.

As Wei Ying started to chatter about his friends, Lan Wangji couldn’t help but feel lucky to have such a beautiful soul as his first friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next day update whaaaaaat? I had a day off and nothing else going on, so I've just been writing. ALSO, I forgot to add a Death warning hahahahaha sorry. But yeah, there will be a death at some point coming up. Probably not for a while, but I still wanted to add the warning now instead of it just suddenly being a thing.
> 
> Wangji needs more friends, poor boy. I will say that some of the comments had me dying of laughter. Nie Huaisang, your canon scheming has given you quite the reputation it seems. XD


	4. Chapter 4

Nie Huaisang didn’t know why he was doing this. Two days, Jiang Cheng had said, two days and he would be back. There was no reason for him to go and meet the human, he wanted him to stop coming after all, he didn’t exactly have good memories with humans. Yet, against his better judgement he was now leaning lazily against the same rock where he had met Jiang Cheng.

His long tail flicked the water lightly as he worked on carving another small peony. Wei Ying and Lan Wangji were already at their little pier, and had been there for the last few hours. Nie Huaisang had been watching them closely when he first arrived, but had since grown bored considering he couldn’t hear anything they were saying.

Jiang Cheng was late…

Although to be fair, he never specified a time in his clamorous exit. Maybe he was more embarrassed by his words than Nie Huaisang had thought. His fan fluttered over the lower half of his face as he thought of all the ways he could tease Jiang Cheng about it.

“You look like you’re up to no good.” Nie Huaisang startled at the sudden voice behind him. He turned to see Jiang Cheng making himself comfortable on the opposite side of the stone, the one on dry land, and he closed his fan with a huff.

“Says the one who’s here to spy on someone.” He knew he was pouting, he also knew that it was an effective way to get what you wanted if used right. “What took you so long?”

“Something came up last minute, have they done anything?” Jiang Cheng turned towards where the other odd pair was, Wei Ying currently sending little splashes at Lan Wangji as his hand hung from the pier side where he lay on his back.

“Nothing but chat to one another. I’m surprised Lan Wangji even approached someone as energetic as your brother in the first place. He’s usually so reserved and quiet,” As if to prove his point, Wei Ying suddenly threw all four of his limbs into the air for seemingly no reason while Lan Wangji only watched.

“He’s adopted.”

“So I shouldn’t expect you to suddenly act like an upturned crab? A shame, truly.” Nie Huaisang went back to working on his peony, unaware of when Jiang Cheng moved his attention from the pier to the small stone he was working on. “I don’t understand why you simply don’t ask your brother about this. It would certainly clear whatever questions you have.”

“You don’t know my brother. He’d find some way to avoid the question. Direct confrontation doesn’t work, you have to catch him in the act.”

“You mean like now? Literally now? You could just walk over right now and you would be catching him in the act.”

“It’s not that easy. You just have to trust me on this one.” Nie Huaisang rolled his eyes. Sure, whatever, perfectly sound logic. “Besides I don’t know how Lan Wangji would react to me suddenly showing up.”

“Well, if you’re worried about him hurting you or Wei Ying, he won’t. The day a Lan actually hurts someone is the day the wind stops blowing. Their sect has a lot of rules that stress peace and tranquility. Lan Wangji is their star pupil so I’d be shocked if he did anything other than flee.” When he looked up from his stone flower, his eyes met Jiang Cheng’s. “What?”

“I never pegged you for someone who’d spill information so easily.”

Nie Huaisang shrugged. “It’s not my sect, and it’s not like you could do anything with it anyway. Would you leave if I personally assured you that Lan Wangji would never hurt your brother?”

“Nope.”

“A shame.”

“I still don’t understand why you want us to leave so badly. You weren’t lying about the storm, but surely this place isn’t that dangerous if you and Lan Wangji have no problem returning.” Nie Huaisang just hummed to himself without offering an answer. After waiting to see if he would after a couple minutes, Jiang Cheng turned back to the pier indignantly.

Wei Ying was sitting up now, while Lan Wangji had lifted himself onto the pier at some point. The other siren’s tail was a shimmering sky blue, matching the fins that were on his wrists and...wait. “Why does Lan Wangji not have fins on his head like you do?”

“Do all humans look alike?”

“Well, no, but you’re avoiding the question.”

“Am I?” Jiang Cheng swatted at him without thinking, leading to Nie Huaisang letting out a small squeak in surprise. “Fine, fine. The Lans have always looked more human from the waist up. Clearly you noticed the lack of fins, but they also have significantly less scales on their torso and arms. Their nails aren’t black either. A human probably can’t tell the difference but their tails are also shorter than those of my sect.”

To prove his point, Nie Huaisang lifted his own dark tail out of the water. Jiang Cheng couldn’t help but marvel, at least internally, at how long and elegant it was. “My tail is probably about this much longer than Lan Wangji’s.” He held out his arms to about a meter and a half. “But it’s not like I’ve personally compared them or anything. Just an average.”

“So the Lan sect looks more humanoid, while your sect is more beast-like?”

“I don’t appreciate being called a beast, but I suppose you’re not wrong.” Nie Huaisang allowed his tail to gently lay back in the water. Jiang Cheng couldn’t help but think stubbornly to himself that he hadn’t said Nie Huaisang looked bad, quite the opposite actually. Wait. He nearly sputtered out loud, before his thoughts could spiral any further, his companion continued.

“Traits can be more subdued, but Lan Wangji and I are both direct blood descendants of our sects. Our traits are more amplified due to this. Especially-well that’s not important.” _Nor does it affect the Lan clan_ , he added to himself.

Luckily for him, Jiang Cheng didn’t push the question any further, instead opting for a new one. “What about singing?”

“What _about_ singing?”

“Do sirens actually sing to lead people to their deaths?” Nie Huaisang’s hands stilled on the peony, something Jiang Cheng noticed immediately. He almost expected silence to be his answer again, but Nie Huaisang actually answered him.

“No. Not the majority rather. Every siren can sing just as I assume every human can, some bad, some good. I think the stories you humans know are just lonely men entranced by a pretty woman’s singing voice. If they drowned that’s their own fault. Humans can fight a siren’s call rather easily.”

Jiang Cheng recognized the note of dismissal in Nie Huaisang’s voice. He had heard it far too many times whenever Wei Ying wanted to end a conversation without giving out the full story. Thinking of his brother, something came to Jiang Cheng suddenly that had him knitting his brows in thought. Every time they saw each other, which was quite often, a certain little melody was always present. Whether it was through humming, drumming objects around him, or any other form of musical creation, Wei Ying would always bring out the same tune at least once every time. The same lulling tune, over and over. Wei Ying had told him that all it was just “a little song”, but now Jiang Cheng had his own suspicions. Pushing it might get him more silence, but curiosity and rising suspicion got the better of him. “You’re leaving something out.”

“Am I?” Nie Huaisang tilted his head while keeping his closed fan against his lips. The action would be cute if Jiang Cheng wasn’t quickly tiring of another run around.

“Stop with that. Wei Ying’s been humming some song recently. It sounds like a lullaby, and I’m starting to suspect he may have heard it from Lan Wangji.” His tone darkened as he spoke, anger spilling into his words. For all he knew, their singing really could be hypnotic and Nie Huaisang was lying to him. With this in mind, the look of sheer shock on Nie Huaisang’s face threw him for a loop.

“Lan Wangji _sang_ for your brother?” Huh, maybe the wind would stop blowing after all.

Caught off guard by the genuine astonishment in Nie Huaisang's voice, Jiang Cheng took a second to respond. “I-I don't know for sure, but is that so weird?”

“Directly singing to someone is…” Nie Huaisang opened his fan with ease and hid his face once more. He looked rather flustered. “Well, it’s very intimate for a siren, even to another siren. It’s something reserved for family or lovers. For Lan Wangji’s song especially… Maybe that's why your brother was so eager to return so quickly.”

“What does that even mean? Is Lan Wangji special or something? Did he do something to my brother!?” His voice was raising in volume again, and he got closer to the siren in his anger.

“Nothing, nothing! Stop yelling!” Jiang Cheng gave him a look full of skepticism, and Nie Huaisang continued with a hint of reluctance. “Look, I wasn’t lying before. All sirens do sing, but there are special cases that only affect humans. Pacifists are one. Their songs, no matter what they sing, are imbued with magic that has a calming and relaxing effect on whoever hears it. Other sirens can tell when a singer is a Pacifist, but it doesn’t have any effect on us. It’s rare anyway. The only two sirens who have it amongst our sects are Lan Wangji and his brother.”

“So nothing’s going to happen to Wei Ying?”

“Other than him feeling more relaxed and happy, no. Pacifists are meant to spread comfort and soothe humans, not bring harm. Even if Lan Wangji did sing to him, it wouldn't be enough to keep him coming in the long term if he didn't want to.” Nie Huaisang could tell that Jiang Cheng was appeased by his answer. He didn’t exactly enjoy spilling information like this to a human, but it was common knowledge to sirens anyway. It didn’t hurt that he had gotten some rather interesting information as well..

“Magic though.” Jiang Cheng spoke his thoughts aloud. “I guess I’m not that surprised. It’s seems powerful though. Like anyone who heard it would be pulled whether they wanted to or not.”

“A Lure is more powerful.” His thoughts abruptly interrupted, Jiang Cheng turned to Nie Huaisang who was staring down at his little stone flower once more.

“A Lure?” The siren wouldn’t look at him, but mercifully allowed him an answer.

“If you’re called by a Pacifist, it’s like reaching out to calming water. You want to be close to it, a means of comfort. A Lure, however...the call drives you mad. You have to get to the source, by any means necessary. You have to have it, you just _have_ to, you can’t let it go, there is no escaping the call of a Lure’s song. It breaks all logic you may have once had, all rationality is gone. Only desire.” Nie Huaisang paused, clearly uncomfortable by the topic. The siren's voice had grown quieter with each sentence, his expression more closed off. Abruptly, his expression shifted back to a disinterested one, waving his hand dismissively as he continued.

“Luckily for us, there is currently no Lure living in either the Lan sect or the Nie sect. They’re extremely rare, more so than Pacifists. It’s not unusual for a siren to go their entire lives without ever meeting a Lure. They’re usually loners who tend to stay out of the way, rogues if you will, and their song is repulsive to other sirens.”

“How do you know so much then?” Jiang Cheng hadn't thought it to be a bad question, but it brought a haunted look to Nie Huaisang as quickly as he had tried to disguise his unease before. He wasn’t even trying to hide behind his fan, which lay on his lap unfolded next to the peony. Amber eyes moved to stare directly at Jiang Cheng, and he found himself wanting to reach out and comfort the siren, but he didn't know how.

“I’ve heard it, and I’ve seen what it can do to a person.”

_How such a person of pride can fall so far from nothing but a song._

Nie Huaisang reached out slowly and without thought, turning so he could grab Jiang Cheng's hands and hold them in his own. The human's hands were calloused but still softer than his own. Warm to the touch, the sign of life in such a fragile creature, so similar to ones that had once patted his head so long ago. His grip tightened. Why were humans so painfully fragile?

“I told you this place was dangerous, didn’t I? If I can find it, why can't someone who would want to hurt you?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can I just say I love reading all the comments and all the speculation. I also enjoy the handful that make me roll around laughing, although I won't share which those are. Either way, this chapter was def more world-building kinda, minimal flirts, which is very sad, but necessary. 
> 
> I'll be trying to update more while also not rushing, since I'll be heading to Romania for eight weeks soon and wifi there is...well... The area we dig in is VERY rural so. But, I hope you'll be looking forward to updates!


	5. Chapter 5

Hands dug through sand with a grace that shouldn’t be present in such a mundane task, but Lan Wangji had never been anything but elegant in all his endeavors. His hand met something rough and he pulled it out with silent delight. The large oyster he extracted from the sand was exactly what he had been looking for.

Swimming over to a flat stone, Lan Wangji sat comfortably before tearing the oyster open in his lap. His eyes landed on the small pearls inside and he plucked them out with practised ease. Turning, he set five more pearls onto the small pile he had accumulated throughout the past few hours. His older brother had purchased a set of rare dyes from a traveling merchant not long ago, and he had given Lan Wangji permission to use them if he so desired.

An image of Wei Ying wearing a set of lovely red pearls had immediately come to him when he was shown the murky red dye. They would surely look beautiful on him, and maybe he could make a smaller set to pass along to A-Yuan. Lan Wangji wondered what the young boy’s favorite color was.

“These are so pretty! Do you think I could have one or two?” Lan Wangji whipped around at the chirpy voice, instinctively circling his tail protectively around his small horde. Nie Huaisang was unfazed by his sudden movements, floating lazily two feet above him.

While he had never been given any reason to dislike Nie Huaisang, Lan Wangji had truthfully always found him somewhat unnerving. From as far back as when they were children, he had always been uncomfortable around the other young master. At first, he had thought it was due to the difference in their size. Nie sirens were larger than those of the Lan Sect, that was simply fact. Despite his petite build and feminine habits, Nie Huaisang was no exception, and even now his long tail was casting a shadow over Lan Wangji.

It hadn’t hit Lan Wangji _why_ he found Nie Huaisang difficult to be around until they were teenagers. It was his gaze. Those amber eyes, whether obscured by long bangs or his fan, hid answers to questions that he hadn’t even known to ask. There was no secret that was not known to Nie Huaisang, and that realization had frightened Lan Wangji.

No one else seemed to notice, not the Nie sect who regarded their young master with scorn, nor the Lan sect who thought little of the Nie siren outshadowed by his brother. This had made Lan Wangji question himself about the validity of his observation, but time and time again he would watch how the other played dumb and helpless only to always get his way in whatever matter it may have been.

Now he found himself under that familiar amber gaze, feeling scrutinized and prodded for everything he was hiding. There was no way Nie Huaisang could know though, not this time.

“No need to look so scary.” Lan Wangji hadn’t realized he had been glaring. “I won’t take them, I was only teasing.”

“What are you doing here?” It was a fair question. The area they were in was quite far from both of their sects, closer to the inlet in fact, but there was truly little to be found in it apart from the oysters Lan Wangji had been digging up.

Nie Huaisang gave him a smile and swam away from him, towards the sand where he had been digging a minute prior. “I’m looking for stones. Small light ones that are soft enough to carve. This area’s really good for them. And you?”

“Is it not obvious?”

“Ah, I suppose it is. Then may I ask why?”

Lan Wangji chose not to respond, but it proved to be a miscalculation on his part. Nie Huaisang had simply continued to smile at him, cheerfully but eerily, before swimming back and hovering slowly around him like an eel.

“Oh, it must be a surprise then! How fun!” His fan was out now, fluttering smoothly against the water as he held it in front of his mouth. He had the same playful tone that Wei Ying used often, but it didn’t sound right. It sounded hollow. Fake. “Who could it be for though...Brother Xichen, perhaps?”

Hearing Nie Huaisang refer to his brother as “brother” as well had always made Lan Wangji uncomfortable. He knew Xichen and Nie Mingjue were close, or had been, but he had always been confused how this closeness had extended to Nie Huaisang, but not himself. Although he supposed it would have felt weird to have Nie Mingjue look at him like a little brother the way Xichen did with Nie Huaisang.

“No, probably not Brother Xichen. He’s not the type for accessories like pearls.” Nie Huaisang had closed his fan now, holding it to his lip in playful pondering. “Pearls are usually reserved for women in the Lan sect aren’t they? Did you meet someone?”

An image of Wei Ying crossed through his mind before he could stop it. Even if he had only made the smallest of movements at the thought, it did not go unnoticed by Nie Huaisang. “You have, haven’t you! That’s great, Lan Wangji!”

“I haven’t.”

“Really?” The darker siren moved closer, not even trying to hide his knowing smirk as he whispered, “I wonder what Wei Ying would think of that.”

Lan Wangji swiped at him without thinking, his hand connecting with the closed fan and knocking it out of Nie Huaisang’s hand. The other siren barely flinched, instead opting to swim over to where the fan had landed and pick it back up. “I ask that you not damage this. It was a gift and I cannot get another.”

“How do you know about Wei Ying!?” His tail flicked angrily, knocking over his pearls, but he didn’t care at the moment. His attention was fully focused on Nie Huaisang, who was flipping his fan open and shut to check its integrity.

“I just happened to see you, stealth is rarely the strong suit of someone so honest and pure.” Lan Wangji didn’t believe him for a second. “He seems very nice. To think the great Hanguang-Jun even sang for him, he must be special indeed!”

He froze. Knowing about Wei Ying was one thing, even if he wasn’t sure how Nie Huaisang knew his name, but to know he had sung for him was something else entirely. It the other siren were to go to his family and tell them of this…

“I won’t tell.” Lan Wangji looked to Nie Huaisang in disbelief, but for once the small smile on his face seemed genuine. “I know we’re not exactly friends, but I’ll keep your secret. Whether you believe me or not is up to you.”

“Why? Why give me lenience?”

Nie Huaisang swam next to him, plopping down on the stone and letting his tail drape around the surface. “Because I want a confidante.”

“Confidante? But you’re not-”

“Trustworthy? Reliable?”

“Meeting a human.”

“Oh, but I am.” Nie Huaisang rested his head between his palms and looked down at the fan in his lap. “Because I'm an idiot who can't help but repeat mistakes. My brother’s words ring true. I am a fool through and through.”

“What is so foolish about meeting with humans? Wei Ying...Wei Ying has become someone very important to me.” It wasn’t a lie, every word laced with nothing but the truth. Yet, for some reason Nie Huaisang held pity in his eyes.

“You’re just like Brother Xichen. Although I think this is the first time you’ve spoken more than three words to me.” He chuckled to himself quietly before continuing. “Is Wei Ying truly that special a person?”

“Yes.”

An awkward silence pressed upon them. Lan Wangji cautioned a glance over to the other siren, but his expression gave nothing away. The quiet between them was almost enough for Lan Wangji to think the conversation had ended as suddenly as it began, but then Nie Huaisang spoke.

“How?” His voice was barely higher than a whisper, nearly missed, but it grew as he spoke. “How can you be so sure? He could turn on you, tell others, make a spectacle! Would you still think of him the same then? Would you still try to be by his side?”

There was a deep-rooted anger leaking into his words, nearing hysterics. Lan Wangji did not know why, but he could feel that at the core of the anger lay thick layers of betrayal and hurt. He almost reached over to comfort the other siren for reasons unknown, but it was not his place. In spite of this torrent of negativity and mixed emotions, he still knew his answer immediately.

“Yes.” Not looking to the other siren for a reaction, he pressed on. “He is kind, too kind. I want to help him, I want to stay by him. No matter what. Do you not feel the same? About your human?”

Nie Huaisang was silent, eyes still locked onto the object in his lap. He wanted to laugh, laugh at the absurd optimism from the naive siren beside him. The same optimism he had heard before from someone nearly identical, years ago before everything changed. Before brothers grew distant, before blood stained their hands. Before pride and music had poisoned the inlet he still found himself drawn to day after day.

Jiang Cheng was there though.

Was it so wrong of him to hope for something again?

“I’m scared, Lan Wangji. I...I don’t want more blood in the water.” He noticed the slight widening of Lan Wangji’s eyes when he mentioned blood. Ah. He doesn’t know, does he? Brother Xichen, you’ve been hurting alone all this time? “I’ve made mistakes. I got too close before, will this time truly be any different?”

“You won’t know until it happens. Why overthink?”

“Ha.” The laugh was bitter. “You talk as if you know, but you don’t. There’s so much you don’t know, that’s being kept from you, but I will not be the one to share. That role is for another. But for this subject, you are the only one I can talk to. No other siren would be foolish enough to bond with a human.”

Lan Wangji was about to object to being called foolish once more, but Nie Huaisang had already risen from the stone they sat upon. “I will leave you now, for I assume you plan to visit your Wei Ying as you do every day. I warn you to use caution, but I feel I’ll be ignored regardless. The subject has made me weary, but I do hope we can speak again. Send my regards to Wei Ying.”

With a wave, Nie Huaisang grabbed his items and was gone. Lan Wangji sighed, tired himself, and turned back to his pearls. They had been thoroughly scattered into the sand as the conversation had carried on. He was almost reluctant to gather them, but they were for Wei Ying. Just the thought of the human was enough to give the needed motivation to bring them all back to a pile once more.

As he started to collect those that had fallen, a shadow cascaded over the sand. He turned, expecting Nie Huaisang to have forgotten something during his departure, but recognizing the figure before him nearly made him drop the pearls he was holding.

Predatory amber eyes looked down on him, long nails clearly visible and large tail flicking in anger. Even his dark fins seemed to vibrate with barely subdued fury. Lan Wangji shifted away without thinking, but the other siren was on him in a second, pinning him into the sand and scattering the pearls once more. There was no escaping Nie Mingjue.

“For your sake, I hope that I did not just hear what I think I did.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hrm, I'm not as happy with this one, but I need it to progress things. Plus LWJ and NHS like never interact without WWX present so I was like HOW, don't feel like I got it quite right but close enough and not too OOC :'D Plus I don't really write NHS as helpless as he acts since I didn't really give him a background that would justify it in this context, other than playing the fool to get what he wants at times.
> 
> Happy Birthday to Nie Huaisang too (although I'm a day late and I made you suffer hahahahaha)!


	6. Chapter 6

It had been nearly a week since Lan Wangji had last shown up to the pier.

At first, Wei Ying had thought nothing of it. Things happened sometimes, he himself had missed a day or two previously. He waited patiently, bringing a sketchbook the second day to kill the long hours before he had to leave to get A-Yuan.

By the third day, he was growing angry. If Lan Wangji didn’t want to meet anymore, whatever, but he could have at least said something to him! It hurt, more than he thought it would, but a part of him was angry because he felt so hurt. He couldn’t really explain why, all he knew was that he was going to let Lan Wangji have it the next time he came.

As the fifth day rolled around, his anger had been replaced by worry. Why wasn’t Lan Wangji coming anymore? Did something serious happen? Was he hurt somewhere? Did…did he do something to drive him away? Could Lan Wangji hate him now?

That thought had nearly had him in tears.

Wei Ying had wanted to go to the pier on the sixth day as well, but A-Yuan had come down with a fever and he couldn’t leave the boy alone. Despite this, Lan Wangji was still ever-present in his mind as he carried food to his son’s bedside.

“A-Yuan.” His touch was gentle as he shook the boy from his slumber, his voice a whisper. “A-Yuan, wake up. I have some food for you.”

Soft blue eyes opened slowly, a haze over their usual brightness. Obediently, truly A-Yuan was much too well-behaved for a six-year-old, the boy sat up with minimal aid and looked at the bowl of soup Wei Ying had brought.

“Mama, did you cook this?” Wei Ying almost laughed. Even sick, his precious boy was weary of his cooking for fear of spice. “’s not red though.”

“Wen Ning dropped it off. He said that Wen Qing made it special for you when she heard you weren’t feeling well. You know your cousins are always looking out for you.” He reached over to pat A-Yuan gently on the head, the boy instinctively reaching up to fix anything that might’ve been ruffled out of place. Although the attempt was rather sluggish in his current state.

“Thank you, Mama. Can you tell them ‘thank you’ for me?”

“Of course, sweetheart. Eat as much as you can, alright? Just set it on your nightstand when you’re done. I’m going to grab a new cloth for you, okay?”

He stood to leave but stopped when a small hand grabbed onto his sleeve. A-Yuan was looking up at him with a small frown on his face, his bowl to his side on the bed. “Mama, are you okay?”

Wei Ying froze, before a smile quickly made its way onto his face and he reached to rub A-Yuan’s head again. “Mama’s just got a lot on his mind, dearest.” He knew lying to his son would only make him more concerned, the boy was very perceptive when it concerned Wei Ying’s moods. “I’ll be okay. You have to focus on getting better too, so let’s make a promise.”

A-Yuan held out his little finger expectantly. Wei Ying happily raised his own hand to connect their pinkies. “When we’re both feeling better, let’s go to this beach I know. It’s really pretty and there’s no one there. I…I might even let you meet a new friend. Wouldn’t that be fun?”  
  
“Mm!”

“Then you gotta eat something, you’ll feel better faster.” Disconnecting their hands, A-Yuan eagerly went for his bowl in all his tired energy. Wei Ying gave his son one last smile, before leaving the room to get the new cloth. After having fulfilled this and putting A-Yuan back to sleep, he found himself aimlessly wandering around the living room.

He could try to get some work done, but he just didn’t feel up to it. He could clean a bit, but there wasn’t really anything to clean. He almost wandered into the kitchen to grab a snack, or even some Emperor’s Smile, but he couldn’t even muster up the motivation to do that. The room progressively grew darker as the day wore on, but Wei Ying still did nothing but wander back and forth across the carpeted floor.

“Wei Ying?”

The soft voice caused his movements to cease. Wen Ning and Jiang Cheng, why they were both here he did not know, were looking at him in concern from the wide entryway of the room. Wen Ning reached over to turn on the lights, illuminating the room and nearly blinding Wei Ying. Taking in his weary state, it wasn’t long before both of them were by his side.

“Are you alright? Has something happened? Did something happen with A-Yuan?” Wei Ying could tell that Wen Ning was slipping into his ‘mother hen’ mode as his grip on the bag he carried grew tighter with every question. Attempting to comfort his friend, Wei Ying rested his hand lightly on his shoulder.

“Everything’s fine. A-Yuan is still sleeping, and I’m just tired is all. Truly.” With these words, Wen Ning calmed down slightly, but still looked uncertainly at Wei Ying. Jiang Cheng didn’t even try to hide his complete disbelief.

“Bullshit. Something’s clearly wrong.” Ah, yes, tact. Had Jiang Cheng ever even heard of the concept? Regardless, Wei Ying couldn’t miss the clear concern in the words.

“It’s nothing really. It’s just…” He paused. Telling his best friend and brother…this would just drag them into a problem that he was responsible for. What kind of person would he be to bring others into the torrent that was his life? This was his problem. This was something _he_ had to fix, not Wen Ning, not Jiang Cheng. Even if he didn’t even know what the problem was. He just…he just…

He really missed Lan Zhan.

He wanted to see Lan Zhan.

He wanted to _be_ with Lan Zhan.

His vision blurred before he could stop the tidal wave of emotions he’d been holding in all week. He reached up with his hands to try to hide, try to cover it, but once the first tear fell, they wouldn’t stop falling no matter how much he swiped them away. His voice caught in his throat, but he tried to vocalize his thoughts. “I-I feel like I screwed something up, but, I-I don’t know what I did w-wrong? And I want t-to see him! I want to say s-sorry for whatever I did! But-but he just disappeared! I don’t know what to do!”

Arms wrapped around his shoulders and held him securely as he sobbed. He buried his face into his brother’s chest, having lost all control over his emotions and no longer caring about concealing them. It felt like hours, having at some point fallen to his knees while Jiang Cheng crouched down with him. Slowly, ever so slowly, the sobs turned into whimpers, before it was silent once more.

Jiang Cheng held him close, and for this reason only he was able to hear what Wei Ying whispered softly before slipping into unconsciousness.

“ _I love him._ ”

That did it.

“Wen Ning, can you watch A-Yuan for a bit?” Jiang Cheng stood, lifting his brother up into his arms while walking towards the door. “I’m taking him to someone who should know how to fix this.”

“Uh, ah! Of course!” Barely hearing Wen Ning’s sputtered answer, he was already closing the door behind him. Wei Ying didn’t show any semblance of wakefulness as he was placed in the passenger seat of the car and strapped in, nor when Jiang Cheng started it and they began to move. As they made their way to their destination, gray eyes couldn’t help but glance over to the sleeping figure though

Jiang Cheng had noticed Wei Ying’s dimming mood throughout the week but had chosen not to say anything. That had clearly been a mistake, he had unintentionally ignored the problem to the point it overflowed. The two of them had their ups and downs, problems in their youth circling around uneven attention and achievements, but Jiang Cheng never hated Wei Ying. Seeing his bubbly brother break down in such a way, that was something he never wanted to see.

~///~

The sun was nearly set by the time they reached the inlet. He didn’t even know for sure that Nie Huaisang would be there, they weren’t supposed to meet for another day yet, but it was too late to turn back now. To his right, Wei Ying had begun to stir, opening his eyes slowly and trying to make sense of where he was.

“Why are we…A-Cheng, how do you know about this place?” His voice was still laced with drowsiness, but his confusion was evident.

“Just follow me.”

They exited the car, Wei Ying following behind with a million questions running through his head. Jiang Cheng was just happy he was tired enough that he wasn’t actually asking any of them aloud. He turned, continuing towards his half of the inlet, but noticed that Wei Ying had stopped.

He was staring at the pier…

“Wei Ying.” His brother turned to him, looking back at the pier longingly once more, before moving to follow.

When they reached the water’s edge, Wei Ying stared at him expectantly. Jiang Cheng couldn’t help but put his hand in his pocket, fidgeting with a small pressed flower that lay inside to give him more confidence to continue. This was going to be difficult to explain.

“I know about Lan Wangji.” Ignoring Wei Ying’s obvious shock, he continued. “I followed you here weeks ago. You had suddenly started to just disappear during the day, and I was…worried. I don’t know what I was expecting to find, but a siren definitely wasn’t it. But…I wanted to support you, I still do.”

“A-Cheng…”

“So I’m going to help you.” Confusion had enveloped Wei Ying’s expression once more as Jiang Cheng turned back towards the waves and cupped his hands around his mouth.

“NIE HUAISANG, YOU LITTLE SHIT! IF YOU’RE OUT THERE YOU BETTER ANSWER ME! I KNOW YOU KNOW WHAT’S GOING ON, SO GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE!”

If Wei Ying was perplexed before, he was utterly stumped and startled at this point. Jiang Cheng suddenly shouting had thrown off his already precarious equilibrium with the situation, and he felt too stunned to do anything but stare at his brother’s back. That was until sudden ripples in the water were able to divert his attention.

A siren was peeking at them from just below the water, his lower face obscured and long black hair flowing around him. Amber eyes tinted silver from the rising moonlight bore through him, sharp slits tracing his every movement. Appearing to quickly deem him of no further interest, the eyes moved over to Jiang Cheng. “I’ve been around all day, no need to shout for me.”

“You wouldn’t have come out unless I did. You’re too paranoid about other people, Nie Huaisang.”

“Hmm…” The siren came closer, raising himself in the shallows as he approached. If Wei Ying weren’t so accustomed to seeing Lan Wangji, he probably would’ve run as far away as he could. Yet… _this siren looked completely unlike Lan Wangji_! The black color, the additional fins on his arms and head, all of it added to a much more intimidating appearance than that of the beautiful siren he knew all too well. Was this the type of siren that the stories were truly about?

“Jiang Cheng knows of my paranoia, yet still brings along another human.” He tapped a closed fan against his chin, feigning hurt before smiling brightly up at the human he knew. “That’s alright though. I was hoping that you would.”

“So you do know what’s going on then.”

“Unfortunately, I do. Regrettably, I am partially at fault as well.” The siren turned his attention to Wei Ying, bowing his head in apology as he continued. “It was my own carelessness that put Lan Wangji in the position he is currently in. I was not careful enough and was heard discussing you and your brother with him. That has put him and myself into a tight bind as a consequence.”

“Is Lan Zhan alright?” Wei Ying needed this question answered more than he needed breath at that moment.

“Lan Wangji is safe. He is currently under house arrest at Gusulan.”

“House arrest!?” Nie Huaisang only nodded while Wei Ying stammered on, trying to sort out his thoughts. “But Lan Zhan isn’t the type to break rules! Especially not one so egregious that would have resulted in house arrest!”

“I would agree, if he had not broken the most significant rule of them all.”

“The most significant?” Jiang Cheng piped into the conversation as Wei Ying was still trying to make sense of the new information. Nie Huaisang nodded, his fan moving to point directly at Wei Ying.

“He was meeting with a human.”

Wei Ying felt as if the world had grinded to a halt. In the end, despite every moment he had spent laughing and chatting with Lan Wangji, it was the mere fact that he was a human that put the siren into a terrible situation. Lan Wangji was in trouble with other sirens, _his flesh and blood_ , because he the person he had chosen to befriend was a human. That was-this whole situation was-it was-was-

“That’s ridiculous! Meeting with a human is something so damnworthy!? Why!? We haven’t hurt anyone!” His outburst seemed to have caught the other two present off guard. Silence permeated the air, before a small huff of laughter escaped from Nie Huaisang.

Completely forgoing the fan to shield his face, the siren laughed openly. His voice ringing through the inlet like a chorus of bells blown by the wind. Jiang Cheng stared, nearly mesmerized by the sound with a hint of confusion within his expression. Wei Ying also stared, but for some reason, the sound of this siren’s laughter made him feel uneasy. The unnerving part was that he couldn’t make sense of  _why_. Nie Huaisang stopped as abruptly as he had begun and looked to Jiang Cheng with bright eyes.

“I wish you had introduced me to your brother much sooner! He truly is a delight!” Turning away from Jiang Cheng and back to Wei Ying, he hid behind his fan once more, but his smile was obvious. “I’ll help you get Lan Wangji out of Gusulan.”

“Wouldn’t that put you into a bad position though? You have nothing to gain.”

“A favor from Lan Wangji would be rather nice. A favor from you just as promising. You’re a weird human, and I can surely get something worthwhile from this exchange.” His bright expression shuttered unexpectedly. “If this will help Dage and Brother Xichen move past what needs to be forgotten, then that is something I would very much like to see as well.”

Before either brother could question his last statement, Nie Huaisang suddenly reached to his own neck and plucked off a scale. Ignoring the small line of blood that trickled down his neck, he took the scale and crushed it in his hand. An odd green glow began to shine from within his fist as he opened it to reveal powder where once had been a scale. With a small waving motion of his free hand, he beckoned Wei Ying closer to him. Obeying, albeit not sure why he needed to approach, Nie Huaisang lifted his hand to bring the powder into his own mouth.

Jiang Cheng looked on in complete bafflement, uncertain about what was going on and why it was happening. Wei Ying’s own brows knitted together, but as he opened his mouth to voice his question, warm lips sealed over his. Eyes wide with surprise, it was only two clawed hands holding him there that prevented him from backing away.

_Why was Nie Huaisang kissing him!?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M NOT DEAD HI. I mentioned in the notes of a previous chapter, but I'm currently in Romania, so getting good wifi is difficult and I'm busy with field director work. (I'm an archaeologist :'D) It didn't help that I rewrote this thing like four times before I was mostly satisfied. The next chapter is pretty far along as well, but I can't say for sure when it will be ready.
> 
> I hope you enjoy the brief glimpses of A-Yuan and Wen Ning, and thank you all for being patient concerning updates!
> 
> Random note: I just read through the entirety of Scum Villain and almost started typing "this disciple".


	7. Chapter 7

Lan Wangji sat quietly in the center of his room, eyes closed and thoughts quiet as he strummed the strings of his guqin. If it weren’t for his spiritual energy flowing with each pluck, the instrument would have been useless underwater. As it was, the soft strums let loose a gentle melody that bounced off the walls and enveloped the room with their calming pulse.

His hands stilled as he heard someone making their way towards him. Golden eyes lifted to the door, meeting a sad pair of soft brown. Lan Xichen hovered in the doorway, holding a new spread of food that was clearly meant for Lan Wangji. He saw his brother’s eyes wander to the untouched plates to his right, a sadness appearing in them as he looked. With a sigh, the older siren swam over, placing the food between them.

“Wangji, you must eat.”

“I am not hungry, Brother.”

Lan Xichen kindly didn’t point out that he was beginning to see the outlines of his little brother’s ribs through his skin. Lan Wangji had been subsisting purely off his own spiritual energy since he was put under house arrest. He was fortunate to have such a vast amount as a Pacifist, but it wouldn’t last forever.

“Please Wangji. Everyone’s worried about you.” Lan Wangji didn’t even deign that statement worthy of a response. Leaving the new food untouched, he turned away from his brother and towards four pearls that sat innocently on the other side of the room.

“Brother, do you still have the dyes you spoke of? I would still like to have the red one.”

“I do, but is this for that human you’ve been seeing?” Lan Wangji responded with a quiet ‘Mn’. He held the pearls up, inspecting them for the nth time to make sure they hadn’t been scratched when he hastily grabbed them while pinned. Lan Xichen hadn’t had the heart to take them away. “You know I cannot give them to you for that. Why not blue? Then you can put them on something of yours if you wished.”

“Red. Wei Ying likes red.” Saying the name aloud brought a dimness to golden irises, a slump to his form. Lan Xichen wanted to comfort his brother, his precious baby brother, but he was shaken off when he tried to rest a hand on his shoulder. Instead, a broken voice implored of him, “Why is it wrong, Brother? Why is it wrong to see him?”

Lan Xichen didn’t have a good answer.

Out of his natural instinct to soothe, he almost opened his mouth to sing. Only the feeling of complete and utter _wrongness_ made him stop. He didn’t want Lan Wangji to be forced to be happy. He didn’t like this situation any more than his brother did.

Lan Xichen hadn’t been able to intercept Nie Mingjue before he brought Lan Wangji to the Lan elders and told them what he had heard. How his own brother, who he would deal with, and Lan Wangji had been visiting two humans for who knew how long. How it supposedly would put both GusuLan and QingheNie in danger if this were to continue. Unfortunately for Lan Wangji, the elders had agreed with this sentiment.

When Lan Wangji had argued and fought against the very idea of never seeing this human, Wei Ying, again, he had been forced into house arrest. As this whirlwind was occurring before him, Lan Xichen was faced with a desperate gaze from his brother and a harsh glare from someone he still wished to call friend. He turned from both, leaving Lan Wangji to his fate and giving Nie Mingjue his victory.

Nie Mingjue had swam by him while leaving, speaking low and harshly. “They should’ve known better. Especially my brat.”

Lan Xichen felt sick.

Looking at his brother now, huddled sadly around four small pearls, spirit broken and will to live fleeting…was it truly worth all this? Condemning not only Wangji but A-Sang as well? The Nie siren was so intelligent, surely he wouldn’t have done the same things all over again unless it truly was different this time? These humans…they weren’t…

“Zewu-Jun.” The voice from the doorway startled him, drawing his attention away from his brother to face a messenger. “Nie Mingjue has come to speak with you concerning Nie Huaisang’s whereabouts.”

“I see. Tell him I will be there shortly.” So they hadn’t found A-Sang yet. The poor boy must be scared out his mind, he thought to himself. As the messenger left once more, Lan Xichen turned back to Lan Wangji. He seemed to have perked up a bit at the mention of Nie Huaisang but hadn’t moved from his spot. Lan Xichen took one more glance to the neglected meals, before reaching into the bag he usually carried around with him.

“Wangji. I want you to take this.” He placed a wrapped scroll between them. This drew Lan Wangji’s attention. Only scrolls with extremely powerful energy imbued in them could survive in the ocean, making them extremely rare, so why was his brother in possession of this one? “I think…I think it may solve all of this. It’s something I considered using many years ago, but never had the chance to.”

He reached forward to set his hand atop Lan Wangji’s head. His brother didn’t move away this time. “Wangji, I just want you to be happy. If this is what you decide, I’ll support you as much as I can.”

Giving Lan Wangji his most genuine smile, Lan Xichen left the room to tend to his guest. Once he was gone, Lan Wangji swam hesitantly over to the scroll. He picked it up gently and opened it to read.

Meanwhile, Lan Xichen made his way to meet with Nie Mingjue. Upon seeing the larger siren, he couldn’t help but take in the pure exhaustion that radiated off of the other. He asked, with concern more than evident in his voice, “You still haven’t been able to find A-Sang?”

Nie Mingjue’s expression didn’t change, portraying a stern scowl with fangs nearly bared. However, Lan Xichen had known him for far too long to not notice the changes. The way he softened ever so slightly at the mention of his little brother, worry and fear mixing and threatening to remove that signature scowl.

“No. He hasn’t come back since I brought Lan Wangji here.”

“I’m sure he’s fine. Despite how he acts, he does know how to take care of himself.”

“He better be. If anything’s happened to him, I-“ _Failed as a brother_. Lan Xichen didn’t need to hear the words to know that’s what was running through Nie Mingjue’s head. He had been like this since their father had passed. Overcompensation which turned into overprotectiveness that had always left Nie Mingjue terrified of pushing his brother away any further than he already unintentionally had.

“You underestimate him. He’ll be back before you know it.” Nie Mingjue could only manage to nod, allowing the small bit of comfort. Although he would never admit it aloud, he had missed talking to Lan Xichen outside of meetings as sect leaders. Speaking with Lan Xichen was always soothing, but he wished it were under better circumstances.

~///~

Night had fallen and darkness now enveloped the halls of GusuLan. Lan Wangji lazily swam in circles within his own room, mind racing faster than any movement he could ever make. The scroll he had been given was clenched in his hand, having been read numerous times to make sure his current state hadn’t finally driven him to the imaginary upon reading its contents. What it contained; it could fix everything! Yet, he was missing something very important to fulfill its instructions…

Wide awake with this discovery and in a state of heightened alertness, he took notice when the guard that had been outside of his room suddenly swam down the corridor. A change of guard perhaps? However, previous nights had made Lan Wangji familiar with the change schedule, and it was far too early for one at the moment. Moving closer with caution, his eyes were drawn to the faint yellow glow that seemed to be coming his direction. When a dark figure turned the corner and amber eyes met his own, he froze.

Had Nie Mingjue come to punish him personally?

The siren approached, movements lit by a soft golden fluorescence that emanated from the intricate markings running elegantly down the sides of his body. It wasn’t long before he had made it all the way to Lan Wangji, who felt relief wash over him as the glow of ear fins lit up the face before him.

“There you are!” Nie Huaisang’s chipper whisper floated between them. “My memory of GusuLan is rather poor, it took me a while to get here.”

“The guards?”

“Dealt with. Don’t think too much about it. Though, we should move quickly.” Lan Wangji didn’t need to hear more than that. He followed smoothly behind the Nie siren, who, despite what he had previously said, was making his way through the halls of GusuLan with ease. Arguably, they were in corridors that Nie Huaisang should have never been in before, but Lan Wangji ignored this observation in favor of getting out. The complete absence of guards that should have been there even were he not under house arrest was also ignored.

None of that was important, not when Wei Ying was waiting for him.

They were nearly at the entrance, only separated by the inner courtyard, when Nie Huaisang suddenly stopped them. Lan Wangji was about to question him, but a hand was put over his mouth as the other siren looked fearfully out before them. It took a second, but Lan Wangji was finally able to understand when he caught sight of another golden glow out of the corner of his eye.

Nie Mingjue was circling the courtyard. His own golden glow was starker against his dark frame than Nie Huaisang’s, markings more solid and tribal than the elegant etchings of his little brother. His tail flicked in obvious irritation as he moved, but it was hard to tell if he was actually meaning to guard the entrance itself. It looked more like someone who hadn’t been able to sleep and had chosen to move around as opposed to staying still.

Whether he was guarding the area or not, they were stuck. They had two options: swim straight and through the entrance gate or swim upwards and away. However, not only did Nie sirens have superior vision in dark waters, but it was impossible for Nie Huaisang to suppress the fluorescent light coming naturally from his body. They would likely be spotted with either path.

“Go ahead of me, I’ll distract my brother.”

Lan Wangji looked at Nie Huaisang in shock. Since when was the Nie siren the type for self-sacrifice!? The other siren looked at him and obviously picking up what was being thought, he rolled his eyes. “Look, when you get out of here, you need to head to the Yiling Caves.”

The cave system wasn’t far from GusuLan, little more than a five to ten-minute swim east if he hurried. “Why?”

“Your human’s waiting for you there.” Without giving Lan Wangji a chance to respond, Nie Huaisang swam upwards and, after ensuring that he had been seen by his brother, swam quickly to the west. Nie Mingjue followed immediately, leaving the courtyard completely barren of life. Lan Wangji didn’t waste any time, making his way out and eastwards.

With his speed, it didn’t take him long to reach the Yiling Caves. He swam around in haste, looking in every crevice and calling out to Wei Ying repeatedly and loudly. As panic was starting to set in and he questioned whether Nie Huaisang had lied to him, he heard it.

“Lan Zhan!”

He looked around madly, knowing it came from one of the caves above him, and then he finally found it. In one of the uppermost cave systems, Wei Ying stood at the entrance.

“Lan Zhan!” Wei Ying hopped down as quick as he could, Lan Zhan swimming up to meet him halfway. As soon as they were within reach, both wrapped their arms around the other and held tightly. Lan Wangji could feel Wei Ying shaking in his hold, hands balling into fists against his back. “I missed you so much! I thought-I thought I had done something wrong and you had left me behind!”

“Never.” He tightened his hold, reassuring Wei Ying that he was really here and himself the same. This truly was his human, his Wei Ying, here in his arms, down in the Yiling Caves, underwat- Wait. With reluctance, he pulled away to see the human’s face. “How are you…?”

“Hey!” Another voice rang out from above them. Lan Wangji and Wei Ying looked up to where Jiang Cheng stood with irritation obvious in the entrance of the cave Wei Ying had just leapt out of seconds ago. “You two can be gross later! Come up here already!”

Lan Wangji looked back to Wei Ying, who smiled sheepishly and explained, “That’s my brother I told you about. It’s a long story.”

“I have time.” Wei Ying laughed at his response, but the sound was cut short when Lan Wangji suddenly nuzzled himself against his hair. “I won’t leave you again.”

As a wave of warmth spread through him at the words, all Wei Ying could manage was a small nod as he pressed himself closer to Lan Wangji.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick upload cuz I actually have a free weekend for once since everyone's out at Sarmis. This was actually one of my favorite chapters to write so far, but I'm like-I was so close to approaching past scenes in my original plan but chapters keep changing as I write them but HOPEFULLY all will be answered after the next chapter :'D Hopefully...
> 
> (I like to use eye colors but that means I constantly have to stare at pictures from the animation and debate the color to myself. Which means I spent about ten minutes just staring at Lan Xichen's eyes for like A SENTENCE.)


	8. Chapter 8

Jiang Cheng liked to think he could handle just about any situation. He grew up with Wei Ying after all. But if someone had told him that he would not only be _breathing underwater_ but also having to witness what had essentially become a cuddling session between a siren and his brother!? Well, he probably would’ve laughed right in their face. Yet that was exactly his current situation.

Lan Wangji had swum up to the cave the brothers had been told to hide in with Wei Ying in his arms. It had taken about five minutes for them to settle comfortably, the siren not releasing his brother for even a second as he did so. Jiang Cheng could feel his face twitching in irritation, but a quick glance to the fan in his hands calmed his nerves.

“Explain.” Lan Wangji had finally curled himself around Wei Ying in a manner satisfying for both and now looked between the two humans waiting for an answer. Jiang Cheng grit his teeth at the rude tone.

“Lan Zhan, when you stopped showing up, A-Cheng took me to Huaisang. He was the one who filled us in on what had happened.” The siren nodded when Wei Ying paused. “He brought us down here, but said it’d be too hard to take both of us to break you out. So instead he left us his fan, and said that if it started to get wet, we should start swimming for the surface immediately.”

“His fan?” Jiang Cheng felt more than saw Lan Wangji’s hard gaze land on the fan. He found himself gripping it closer to himself, irrationally trying to hide it from the siren with his hands alone.

“I don’t really get it either. Something about it having his magic in it?” Wei Ying was playing it off as nothing, but Jiang Cheng knew that he understood the implication just as much as he did. If the fan got wet, then something had happened to Nie Huaisang. “Probably the same type of magic he used to let us breathe underwater.”

Now that was something Jiang Cheng would have preferred to forget. After Nie Huaisang had pulled away from a shocked silent Wei Ying, the siren moved on like he hadn’t just _kissed_ someone. “There! Now you should be able to breathe underwater. This way you can help me assist Lan Wangji.”

“Breathe under…Did that really require kissing him!?” Jiang Cheng wasn’t sure why he had such a strong negative reaction to what he had seen. Yet, in the back of his head, that same nagging voice that had plagued him growing up made its way to the surface. _You know why you’re mad. Even your siren friend immediately chose your brother over you._

“Kissing? Oh, I didn’t mean it like that. Direct ingestion is the quickest method, while I would have had to put it into my mouth regardless to imbue it most potently with my spiritual energy. Usually rubbing it on the skin is the preferred method, but we don’t have time for that.” Nie Huaisang waved him off with ease.

“Still…” Jiang Cheng found himself without a reasonable counter argument. Instead, he hardened his expression, trying to hide how awkward this next part was going to be, as he moved to sit in front of Nie Huaisang now. “Then do it to me too. I’m coming with you.”

“Huh?” All eyes were on him, but he held his eye contact with the flummoxed siren before him. “Jiang Cheng, there’s no reason for you to put yourself into such danger!”

“If you and my own brother are going, then there’s no way I’m staying behind! I’m a good swimmer, I won’t get in the way.” He kept his gaze steady, but his fists clenched to the point they were turning white. “I’m not useless. I won’t hold you back, I swear.”

_Don’t leave me behind. Don’t both of you move further out of my grasp._

“That’s not-I wasn’t saying-” Nie Huaisang sighed, running a hand through his long hair while the other flipped his fan open and closed. He had really only wanted Wei Ying for insurance reasons, but Jiang Cheng was much too stubborn about things like this. He closed his eyes, moving his hand from his hair to his neck and pulling off another scale. “Fine, but you two will have to wait while I get Lan Wangji out. I can’t reliably swim around and not get caught with two of you.”

“We’ll leave it to you then.” Jiang Cheng closed his eyes, feeling too awkward to look at Nie Huaisang while knowing what was coming. He kept them closed even as two damp, yet oddly soft, hands rested on either side of his face. There was a long moment where nothing happened (if he had had his eyes open like Wei Ying, he would’ve seen the bright blush spreading over the siren’s face) and he opened one eye to see what was taking so long. It was that exact moment that Nie Huaisang chose to finally dive into the kiss.

It was hard to describe all the feelings running through his mind and body. As the powder moved into his mouth, a strange sensation ran through him, centralizing in his throat and chest. But for the powder of the scale to transition in the first place, he had had to open his mouth for Nie Huaisang. He could feel the siren’s tongue against his own, a feeling far too intimate for a simple passing of energy. The hands that had been holding him in place moved to grip his short hair, holding him far closer than necessary for their exchange. There certainly hadn’t been this level of closeness between Nie Huaisang and Wei Ying.

Right as his felt his own self-restraint start to fall, wait-what was he restraining himself from, Nie Huaisang pulled away from him. The siren quickly wiped at his lips and looked at nearby stones as if they were the most interesting things on the planet. Jiang Cheng, on the other hand, couldn’t tear his gaze away from where Nie Huaisang’s hand was still covering his mouth.

A small snicker drew their attention away from the mess of thoughts and emotions clouding their minds. They had forgotten that there was another person present. Wei Ying was watching them both with a knowing smile barely concealed by his own hand. “Is he good to go then?”

“Y-Yeah.” Nie Huaisang brought his fan up, concealing the lower half of his face from Jiang Cheng’s staring. “We should go. It’s already late, but that should play in our favor.”

With everything said and done, Nie Huaisang had brought them to the caves they were in now. Before he had left, he’d turned to Jiang Cheng with a serious expression. Holding out his fan, he spoke, “Hold on to this for me. My spiritual energy runs through it, so if it suddenly gets wet, swim to the surface as quickly as you can.”

He hadn’t explained further, and when Jiang Cheng reached to grab the fan, the siren’s hold on it had tightened subconsciously. When meant with a questioning glance, Nie Huaisang relented with a sad smile. “That’s…it’s something very precious. I’m trusting you with it.”

Jiang Cheng had nodded in understanding, and Nie Huaisang had left quickly after. It had been easy for the brothers to follow his movements due to his glowing, but even then he was soon out of their sight.

“So he kissed Wei Ying?” Lan Wangji spoke for the first time since they had begun recapping their side of events. The brothers looked at him, simultaneously thinking, _that’s what you took from that!?_

“Lan Zhan. I’ll assure you that was not my first kiss, that belongs squarely with my little A-Yuan.” The cloudy atmosphere around the siren didn’t improve and Wei Ying laughed nervously. “Really, really! It’s okay, I’m here with you because of it so it’s okay! It didn’t mean anything so let’s focus on the bigger picture right now.”

Begrudgingly, Lan Wangji relented. For now.

Indeed, there were parts of the story that had drawn his attention apart from the…kissing. Primarily, how Nie Huaisang had not only given some of his spiritual energy to two humans that had clearly been given a sizable amount if they were down here and still breathing after such a long period of time, but it appeared that the other siren was still running a current of energy through his fan. Lan Wangji had known the fan was from the surface, like his own guqin, but he hadn’t paid much mind to the fact that Nie Huaisang must be running energy through it near constantly with how well-maintained it appeared.

From what he’d heard and seen, Nie Huaisang was rather mediocre when it came to his amount and use of spiritual energy. Yet, the amount he’d used today alone rivalled his own maximum energy output. Something clearly wasn’t right here, but he was interrupted by Wei Ying poking him in the ribs.

“Forget us, what have you been doing? Starving yourself? How would that help anything!?” Golden eyes looked away from him, avoiding eye contact all together.

“…Lan Zhan, are you really ignoring me so blatantly?”

“Hey! Where is Nie Huaisang anyway?” Jiang Cheng cut in, still holding the fan close to him.

“He lured Nie Mingjue away. I don’t know where.” The siren went straight to the point, but he didn’t expect to suddenly have the other human mere inches from his face.

“You mean you just left him behind!?”

“Even if caught, he will not be harmed.” _Most likely_ , Lan Wangji added to himself. QingheNie was a much harsher environment than GusuLan, but he couldn’t imagine Nie Mingjue doing anything serious to his own brother. “It would be best to bring you both back to the surface. I do not know how long his scales will last.”

“How could you say that?” Jiang Cheng’s voice was growing more acidic. “Just leave him to be caught? He went out of his way to save you! He put himself in danger because he wanted to help! Something that even I can tell he would never normally do if there wasn’t something in it for him! But of course, you wouldn’t return the favor! You only care about yourself and Wei Ying!”

“A-Cheng, calm down. You know it’s not like that-”

“Then how is it!? Why is he any different than your Lan Wangji!?” Jiang Cheng sat cross-legged with a huff. “Fine! You two can leave, I’m waiting here!”

Lan Wangji nearly rolled his eyes. Nie Huaisang was crafty, he’d talk his way out of anything, but this human was so troublesome. Unfortunately for him, Wei Ying had his own loyalties as well. “Lan Zhan, I’m staying too. I’m not leaving here without A-Cheng.”

“I could force him.” Wei Ying patted him on the shoulder lightly. “Let’s not, he may actually bite you.”

“Like a dog?”

“Like a dog.”

“What’s a dog?” A familiar voice spoke up from the cave entrance. In their arguing, all three had failed to notice the signature golden glow of Nie Huaisang approaching their small hiding spot. The siren’s hair was down, but otherwise he looked unharmed as he made his way further inwards to avoid his light giving them away.

“Are you alright?” Jiang Cheng was at his side in an instant. A motion that vaguely reminded Wei Ying of Wen Ning’s mothering nature. Nie Huaisang was a little surprised to have the human check on him so quickly, but he calmed when he saw how protectively the other was holding his fan.

“I’m fine. I just lost my ribbon while I fled.” He gave what he hoped was a reassuring smile to Jiang Cheng, before turning to Lan Wangji. “My brother isn’t too far behind me. We should get them to the surface and then find a place of our own to hide.”

“Can we not hide at the inlet?”

“No. Both Dage and Brother Xichen know where it is. They’d find us quickly.” Nie Huaisang’s expression soured a bit when talking about their brothers, but he needed to keep himself together. “Maybe towards-”

“You will not be going any further tonight.” A booming voice cut him off, and amber eyes widened in fear as a dark shadow eclipsed the entrance. Both sirens moved to protect the humans, tails wrapped protectively around them as they faced the newcomer.

For the humans seeing this new siren for the first time, they couldn’t help the sense of terror felt between them. Nie Mingjue towered over them, nearly twice the size of Nie Huaisang despite all other features being relatively similar. Yet, there were things that were off. His amber eyes were sharper, fins longer and scales running further up his skin. The claws on his hands were longer and his teeth bared in a snarl, giving all the appearance of a creature more beast than human.

“Shit, he’s gone feral.” Nie Huaisang whispered under his breath, low enough that only Jiang Cheng heard him. It was a state the Nie sirens were particularly prone to. His rational thinking would be greatly reduced in this state, but his strength would be up tenfold. He hadn’t taken notice of how angry his brother had been growing while he fled. This couldn’t be any worse for them.

“Huaisang, enough of these games. Release your energy. We’re going home, and Lan Wangji will return to Gusu.”

“Dage, they will drown if I do so! Let us just bring them to the surface then we will come!” He could feel glares coming from both Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji, both clearly against his suggestion. At least it seemed like Wei Ying could read the atmosphere!

“They are mere humans. Let them drown.”

“Dage!” Nie Mingjue was in front of him before he could react, pushing him roughly out of the way and into the cave wall. With Nie Huaisang forced out of the way, there was no longer a barrier between Nie Mingjue and Jiang Cheng. The siren looked down as if he were looking at garbage, but his expression turned downright murderous when it landed on the fan.

“That thing. How many times have I told you to destroy it!?” He reached down to grab the item, but Jiang Cheng instinctively held it out of his reach. The siren smirked cruelly before grabbing his hair and lifting him by it. Trying to free himself, the grip on the fan loosened enough that Nie Mingjue was able to swipe it away with no trouble. Getting what he wanted, he tossed Jiang Cheng away with enough force to send him into the opposite wall.

“A-CHENG!” Wei Ying left Lan Wangji’s side and ran to his brother as quickly as he could through the water. Lan Wangji followed close behind when he realized his human had run off, never taking his eyes away from Nie Mingjue’s movements.

“Dage, please stop this!” Nie Huaisang was back up with no injuries, having been thrown significantly lighter than Jiang Cheng. From the side, Lan Wangji noticed that the younger Nie siren’s scales were beginning to spread over more of his skin. “They haven’t done anything! Leave them out of this!”

“They’ve tainted both of your minds! To think you would allow it a second time!” Nie Mingjue held the fan with both hands, intended motion clear. Nie Huaisang’s eyes widened.

“No, no. Dage, I beg of you. Please don’t, _please! That’s all I have left!_ ” Paying no attention to his brother’s pleading, Nie Mingjue sent a burst of his own spiritual energy through the fan, breaking through the present energy around it by force. The action shattered the frame, leaving the paper of the fan to tear and deteriorate once it was exposed to the saltwater. Within seconds, the once beautiful accessory was no more.

“There is no reason to hold onto memories of such a person.” Nie Mingjue glared down at the two humans, one battered but awake, the other standing between them and to the siren guarding them. “Just as there is no reason to hold onto these either.”

The fist connecting with his face came out of nowhere.

The momentum of the hit sent the larger siren backwards out of the cave. Shock reverberated through the tight space, as three took in the state of the fourth. Nie Huaisang hovered in front of where Nie Mingjue had previously been, but his current state could only be described as unstable.

From his changed appearance it was obvious to all that he had gone feral as well. Yet, his features were more exaggerated than those of his brother. Fins wider, nails longer, scales covering every inch of skin except his face. If they had not been underwater, tears would have been flowing down his face uncontrollably, but the sobs and screams were more than enough to illustrate his state of mind. Unbeknownst to the humans present, he had also nearly solidified spiritual energy around his hands. Lan Wangji alone recognized this shift.

“Why did you do that, Dage!? Why? Why? Why? Why? That was the only thing left! The ONLY THING! Why’d you break it!? Why’d you take it away!? Why’d you take him away!? HOW WILL I REMEMBER BROTHER YAO NOW!? WHEN YOU BROKE THE ONE THING HE GAVE TO ME!?”

“DON’T SAY THAT NAME!” Nie Mingjue slammed into his brother, their hands meeting in a forceful back and forth movement. Their audience could do nothing but watch in a mix of horror and awe as Nie Huaisang managed to hold his own against the significantly larger siren. Yet, as they began to tumble around, the three observers were forced to take notice of the debris flying their direction.

“Hold on to me!” Lan Wangji called out. Wasting no time, Wei Ying lifted Jiang Cheng and both grabbed onto the siren’s waist. He gripped the backs of their shirts to hold them more securely and brought them above the spontaneous battle arena.

Even at this distance, they could clearly see as the sirens threw each other back and forth. Nie Huaisang had just been thrown down below into a rock formation, but it was only seconds before he had swum back up and shoved his brother roughly in another direction. “Why are you so hateful, Dage!? You weren’t the one he hurt, and you weren’t the one who killed him!”

“What kind of twisted memory do you have Huaisang!? That monster betrayed us! We meant nothing to him!”

“That’s not true and you know it!” A sob broke through his shouting. “We were the only real things he had! Yet, you turned your back on him so quickly!”

“He deserved it!”

“No one deserved anything that happened!” A new voice shouted from below. Both Nie brothers turned to see Lan Xichen swimming quickly toward them, uncharacteristic fury on his face. “We _all_ killed him! You two need to calm down! Beating each other up will solve nothing!”

“Xichen, you-” Not allowing another word to come out of Nie Mingjue, Lan Xichen began to sing a soft melody. Both brothers froze, and as the melody continued, Nie Mingjue began to quickly revert to his non-feral form. Lan Xichen took notice of how Nie Huaisang was also reverting, but at a significantly slower pace. The young siren’s own spiritual energy was fighting with the song as he held his head in pain.

“Wangji!” Lan Xichen called to his brother, momentarily interrupting the song. Luckily, Lan Wangji understood immediately and swam closer, bringing Wei Ying and Jiang Cheng with him. Without hesitation, he joined his brother in singing, matching the melody and notes flawlessly.

The effect was immediate, Nie Huaisang’s reversion picked up a normal speed, and soon both Nie sirens lay in slumber. Wei Ying and Jiang Cheng were also feeling the effects of the songs, but their racing adrenaline and, unbeknownst to them, the remnants of Nie Huaisang’s spiritual energy within them mitigated it enough for them to barely stay conscious. As the singing came to a close, Lan Wangji looked to his brother expectantly.

Lan Xichen offered a hollow smile, the same expression Lan Wangji regrettably considered normal these days, as he moved towards them. “Wangji, take those two to the surface immediately. Huaisang’s energy has been severely disrupted. I fear the energy he gave to them may not last much longer.”

“Brother…”

“Do not worry. I will return as soon as I return these two to QingheNie.” He set a gentle hand on the Nie brothers as he said this, but never broke eye contact with Lan Wangji.

“After that…I will tell you all everything.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi hi! This will probably be the last one for a little while, as I chugged out this and the previous two quite closely together. I hope you enjoy this!
> 
> For those obviously noticing that the Nie brothers have more cryptid-like abilities and traits, it's mainly due to my designs of the Nie and Lan sirens being polar opposites. The Lan sirens are rather simple, they're the type of sirens that you would associate with beauty and grace. They're not inherently dangerous, and are much more likely to seek peace in whatever situation they find themselves in. Nie sirens, on the other hand, are more fierce and more animalistic in nature. They resemble their fish counterparts closer than Lans, and as such have more effects such as bio luminescence. (The whole feral thing is more a link to Qi deviation honestly, but it fits this theme.) I just thought I'd explain here since there's no logical place for this to come up in the story. Sorry it's long, just like this chapter :'D


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